Would Trump make a good royal?

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By Rob Crilly

The power of the British monarchy has been on display during recent tragedies.

Whether comforting victims of the Grenfell tower block fire or unveiling the priorities of her government in the state opening of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth II has demonstrated the sort of steady, dignified endurance that rises above the chaos of a divisive Brexit vote and an inconclusive general election.

Leave it to Prince Harry to spoil it all.

In a revealing interview with Newsweek, the Queen's most rebellious grandson let slip the secret at the heart of his family.

"We are involved in modernizing the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people.... Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don't think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time," he said.

Prince Harry's words are extraordinary. But he should know better than anyone if his father Charles and brother William, both groomed for the job since birth, do not even want the throne.

Who, after all, could survive the nonstop attention and demand for selfies? Who would thrive under such scrutiny, and do it all while wearing a gold crown weighing more than three pounds?

It would take a certain type of person. The sort of person who fills his court with relatives, perhaps, who thinks the separation of powers is a foreign concept, and who would quite fancy himself as the head of a church.

Anyone coming to mind here?

President Donald Trump may be struggling to navigate power in the world's greatest democracy. But how about the top job in a smaller, dustier administration?

There may be centuries of convention about how the monarch is supposed to relate to Parliament (keep quiet and sign the bills when they arrive), but an unwritten constitution means there is nothing to stop him doing whatever he wants.

These days, marrying a Catholic is not even a problem, so Melania is safe.

It is, of course, a stupid idea. A poor joke deployed by a Brit in America (yours truly) trying to make sense of Prince Harry's comments and the truth about duty.

Harry's point is that nobody should want the crown. Nobody should want the awesome responsibilities that come with it. The accident of birth has rather ruled him out of contention anyway. Prince Harry now stands fifth in line to the throne.

But it is easy to understand how a fun-loving 30-something would balk at the idea.

His mother died in a car accident in a French road tunnel as she was pursued by paparazzi, photographers trying to sate the massive interest in the Royals' real-life soap opera.

A photo of Harry walking in his mother's funeral cortege became the public's defining image of the young prince.

"My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television," he said in the Newsweek interview.

"I don't think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don't think it would happen."

It got worse as Harry got older and became fair game for the tabloids. Now every girlfriend is scrutinized by a public that knows him only from a distance.

When he dressed up as a Nazi for a fancy dress party, photographs turned up on newspaper front pages.

And as his brother William will one day find out, being king rather makes showing up at a Colonials and Natives themed party a bit of a no-no. (Although his choice of outfit at that notorious 2005 party -- a lion costume -- shows the way he has been groomed from a young age to avoid accidentally triggering outrage by dressing up as a murderous fascist.)

We have all watched the crown and marveled at the way Princess Elizabeth blossomed into a young queen as she grappled with her new burden and the duties she learned at her father's side.

How much more difficult that transition would be today, in our nonstop world of Twitter, hot takes and rolling news.

Anyone lusting after the position of sovereign would possess not just an unhealthy masochism, but a level of narcissism at odds with the humility displayed by the Queen during this past week.